University of Minnesota School of Architecture – College of Design John Comazzi, Associate Professor of Architecture

Portfolio Primer

Let your images breath. Avoid overlaps of images and text over images.

Serif Font Sans-Serif Font Slab-Serif Font

Font Family: Helvetica

Many paper companies will supply you with swatch books for fine quality papers to use as covers, resumes, cover letters, envelopes, etc. French Paper Company: http://www.mrfrench.com/ Cascades Fine Papers: http://www.cascades.com/ Digital Art Supply: http://digitalartsupplies.com/

Portfolio Primer

Photo-documentation

Indirect lighting source:

warms up shadow and shade

Direct lighting source:

casts shadow and shade

photos taken with single light source-no indirect light photos taken with indirect light photo taken with single light source-no indirect light photo taken with both direct and indirect light

photos taken with single light source photos taken with indirect light

Two light sources: one direct and one indirect

using light and shadow to reveal formal and spatial logic of the project

light shadow

evoke

moving the view in towards the project or placing them in it…

depth of field: get inside the project to illustrate the work from a variety of perspectives

Narrative: Multiple perspectives that guides the reader and allows you to describe the project through your understanding

Narrative: Multiple perspectives that guides the reader and allows you to describe the project through your understanding

study models (process)

final models (sequence)

flow diagram

model diagram

structural model

Showing process and development:

1. Organize your images to show development through multiple forms of media.

2. Reveal different characteristics of the project.

3. Reveal the most through the minimal number of images… diversify the images, but show connections and relationships.

Duplicate 2-D work: use two indirect light sources equally spaced and angled. Try and even the lighting to avoid hot spots in the image.

Camera mount on a photo copy stand

Copy stand

Desktop and large bed scanner: Use discs, Dropbox, Google Drive, jump drives or Netfiles to transfer your work off of the desktop

Large format scanner: scans

Do your work justice by photographing it and/or scanning it well. Use “Levels” or “Curves” in Photoshop to adjust the tone of the images. You may need for the image to be darker to pick up the middle tones. Convert to grayscale when appropriate to save file size and avoid odd color tones.

First, some basics The main Triad within the Adobe Creative Suites is: Photoshop: Raster or Bitmap image manipulation and editing. Can now integrate both vector-based line work and editable text (saved as .PSD), but is not well suited for multiple-page documents. Illustrator: Vector-based image creation and manipulation. Can import bitmap images as well as vector line work from Autocad, Rhino, Sketch-Up, Form-Z, MicroStation, etc. Can be useful for layouts of presentation and competition boards, but is not meant for multiple-page documents. Though you can certainly construct drawings in Illustrator, it is cumbersome as a drafting tool and you will be much better off creating drawings in 2D or 3D drafting programs and then importing those into Illustrator. In-Design: Desk-top publishing software program. Best suited for multi-page documents, portfolios and can also be used for large-format layouts (competition boards and presentation boards). Note: The latest versions of these programs have each integrated many of the functions from the others and there is more cross-over now than ever before, but generally speaking, the above distinctions still hold.

FILE CONVENTIONS for bitmap, raster or pixel-based images. You should know how and through what programs or devices you will be outputting your work to help determine the appropriate file size and convention.

print-quality images should have a final resolution of 300dpi (Dots per inch) and should be TIFFs web or projectors (Power Point) need not be larger than 100dpi and should be JPGs.

It is often useful to maintain two sets of images if you will be both printing and projecting images to help maintain appropriate file sizes and quality. Also, try to keep the file measurements (overall dimensions) close to your final print sizes so as not to over-burden your program (Illustrator, InDesign, etc.) or your hard-drive with over-sized images. Make sure the settings in your digital camera are adjusted with respect to your intended output.

Photoshop File (with the psd extension) will preserve the Layers of your file. It is a good idea to keep files with separate layers as an original (or source file) so that you can go back and edit layer attributes or add new layers if needed. However, it is best to import a flattened file (by flattening layers) into desktop publishing programs (InDesign), so you should Flatten the image and “save-as” the file as a TIFF for printing purposes or JPEG for projector / web uses. Flattening the layers will also reduce the overall image size.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) with the tif extension. TIFFs are a higher quality image than JPEGs (due to their compression process) and are meant more for printing purposes. They will typically have a larger file size and will often interact differently with a printer than a JPEG image, so make certain that you have consistency with your files. Note: you can now save TIFFs with layers, but the image will be much larger, it is recommended that you flatten the layers and perform a “SAVE AS” into a TIFF file while maintaining the original PSD file with editable layers.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) with the jpg file extension. JPEGs are a lower resolution file (some data is lost or averaged in the compression process) and though you can print JPEG images it is advisable to use JPEG files for digital projection, interactive projects or web-based output.

GIF (The Graphics Interchange Format) is a bitmap image format has come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability.

Vector

Raster or Bitmap

Bitmap image (Photoshop)

Vector-based image (Illustrator)

bitmap, raster or pixel-based images

Photoshop: raster or bitmap image editing

Illustrator: Vector-based image creation/editing

Ali Qapu Palace gate, John Comazzi and Sam Zeller

InDesign: Desktop publishing

Portfolio Preparations Use appropriate file formats and sizing for your intended output (physical, digital, online, etc.)

General rules of thumb:

• For physical printing: TIFF format files at 300dpi with CMYK color profile

• For digital or online: JPEG format files at 200-150dpi +/- with RGB color profile

• Try not to mix TIFFs and JPEGs, or CMYK and RGB in your different layouts/presentations, they will print differently, and look different on screen.

• If your drawing or model is black and white or shades of grey, convert your images to grayscale file format to reduce the overall size and avoid unwanted tints or tones appearing on your images in your portfolio.

• Test print your layouts using the hardware (printer or plotter) that you will use for your final portfolio. Different printers will process and interpret the files differently and your prints or plots will look different from each machine.

Size your images appropriately to reduce overall file sizes

General rules of thumb:

• Scan or photograph drawings and models at a high resolution so that you have options for different outputs and media formats.

• Resize your images depending on final format. For example, if you have an image that is a JPEG 27” x 18” at 72dpi, but it will be printed at a size of 6”x 4” in your final layout, create a copy of the original file as a TIFF image and crop or resize it to 6” x 4” at 300dpi for printing (or 150dpi +/- for online viewing). Note: make sure you save a copy before resizing to keep the high-res original intact.

• If you place a large, high-resolution image into your layout without resizing, your file size will increase quickly.

Remember: The maximum file size for your online portfolio PDF is 20MB.

Adobe InDesign Desktop Publishing

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-indesign-cs6/

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-indesign-cs5/

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/learn/tutorials/indesign.html

www.lynda.com

Portfolio Design Resources The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli: http://www.vignelli.com/canon.pdf Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann, Verlag Niggli AG, Sulgen/Zurich, 1981.

Excerpt from The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli http://www.vignelli.com/canon.pdf I have always said that there are three aspects in Design that are important to me: Semantic, Syntactic and Pragmatic. Let’s examine them one at the time. Semantics, for me, is the search of the meaning of whatever we have to design. …That may start with research on the history of the subject to better understand the nature of the project and to find the most appropriate direction for the development of a new design. Syntax is the discipline that controls the proper use of grammar in the construction of phrases and the articulation of a language, Design…In graphic design, for instance, they are the overall structure, the grid, the typefaces, the text and headlines, the illustrations, etc. Pragmatics: Clarity of intent will translate in to clarity of result and that is of paramount importance in Design. Confused, complicated designs reveal an equally confused and complicated mind. We love complexities but hate complications! Discipline: The attention to details requires discipline. There is no room for sloppiness, for carelessness, for procrastination. Every detail is important because the end result is the sum of all the details involved in the creative process no matter what we are doing… Quality is there or is not there, and if is not there we have lost our time. It is a commitment and a continuously painstaking effort of the creative process to which we should abide. That is Discipline and without it there is no good design, regardless of its style. Appropriateness: Actually, we can say that appropriateness is the search for the specific of any given problem… Appropriateness directs us to the right kind of media, the right kind of materials, the right kind of scale, the right kind of expression, color and texture. Layouts: Any kind of publication has different layout requirements. However, it is inevitable that the layouts reflect the interpretation of the designer… Once again, in designing any kind of publication the most helpful device is the grid. Most publications are composed of text, images and captions and the task of the designer is to sift through the images to select those which best portray the essence of the content…Ultimately the most important device is the management of the white space in the layouts. Bad layouts have no space left for breathing – every little space covered by a cacophony of type-sizes, images, and screaming titles.

BS Degree Program online portfolio For your online portfolio, please upload a single PDF file that demonstrates your highest-achieving work in design and graphic representation. The PDF layout must be 8.5” x 11” in landscape orientation. The file may contain a maximum of 12 single pages or 6 two-page spreads.

The maximum file size for your PDF is 20MB.

11”

8.5” 12 pages (max) or

11”

8.5” 6 spreads (max)

11”

Link to sample portfolios:

http://design.umn.edu/admissions/slideroom/student_work1.html

Establish an organizational structure (grid, scaffold, baseline, etc.) that helps you organize a range of materials from one large image, to small thumbnails, to text and combinations thereof.

Establish an organizational structure (grid, scaffold, baseline, etc.) that helps you organize a range of materials from one large image, to small thumbnails, to text and combinations thereof.

One large image with three supporting images

Explanatory diagrams with process sketches

General project description and information

Establish an organizational structure (grid, scaffold, baseline, etc.) that helps you organize a range of materials from one large image, to small thumbnails, to text and combinations thereof.

One large image with three supporting images

Explanatory diagrams with process sketches

General project description and information

GUTTER

It often helps to tone-down your text (i.e. 80% for headers and text). Avoid color that distracts.

It often helps to tone-down your text (i.e. 80% for headers and text). Avoid color that distracts.

Overall plan with elevation and detail photographs upon completion

General project description and information

Design diagrams with photographs of the completed project

It often helps to tone-down your text (i.e. 80% for headers and text). Avoid color that distracts.

Overall plan with elevation and detail photographs upon completion

General project description and information

Design diagrams with photographs of the completed project

GUTTER

Don’t allow the text or grid to restrict the presentation of your work, it should be secondary and support the graphic information.

Don’t allow the text or grid to restrict the presentation of your work, it should be secondary and support the graphic information.

Diagram with process photos and drawings below

General project description and information

Overall plan of furniture pieces with detail photographs of the completed projects

Don’t allow the text or grid to restrict the presentation of your work, it should be secondary and support the graphic information.

Diagram with process photos and drawings below

General project description and information

Overall plan of furniture pieces with detail photographs of the completed projects

GUTTER

Loose organization across the “gutter.”

Loose organization across the “gutter.”

Elevation drawing with process photos below

General project description and information

Original design drawing (thumbnail) with completed project photo

Loose organization across the “gutter.”

Elevation drawing with process photos below

General project description and information

Original design drawing (thumbnail) with completed project photo

GUTTER

QUESTIONS?

InDesign Tutorial: May 16, 230pm – 430pm (with enough interest)